Energy Harnessed From Humidity Can Power Small Devices

sciencehabit writes: Scientists have built small devices that generate electricity by harnessing changes in the ambient humidity. This is done through the use of dormant bacterial spores which expand when they absorb moisture from the air. To prove the concept, researchers attached the spores to one side of a curved polymer sheet, and when the spores absorbed humidity from the air, the sheet straightened out. Coupling this movement with an electromagnetic generator allowed them to harvest enough energy to power small devices like an LED and a 100-gram toy car.

Great idea!

[__aaclcg7560]

I can power my ancient Sony Walkman with the black spores from inside my bathroom.

iArmpit

[goombah99]

Google announced today an armpit powered personal server.

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[__aaclcg7560]

Oracle announced today the methane-powered FART processor that will out gas any Intel processor.

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[nospam007]

"Google announced today an armpit powered personal server."

That was not real, they'll just do a moustache-powered Google Glass.

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[gurps_npc]

The device is ultimately powered by the sun - a combination of evaporation and wind provide the changes in humidity used for both the spore and the drinking bird.

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[binarylarry]

I don't get how the Sun could possibly turn into a bird.

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[rjstanford]

Just look at page 3.

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[tobiasly]

Hahahaha I'm a bit proud that as an American I was able to understand the multiple British layers involved with this joke.

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[Rob Riggs]

There is this dry, air-conditioned place most of us here on /. never leave called "indoors".

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[MarioXXX]

Modern app appers power apps using other apps! Apps!

...I like you.

Comment Signature [pastie.org]

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[binarylarry]

The last time man kind decided to play god and harness the power of the fap.... tunguska.

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[ganjadude]

I know right? no one should have ever invented the microchip because it was SOO underpowered compared to todays stuff...

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[ganjadude]

and AA batteries from today will last 100X longer than double A batteries from 20 years ago. so should we have never kept developing?

Its a new tech, a proof of concept. I think its pretty cool, although useless at this point in time. we will see 5-10 years from now what happens

So...

[Arkh89]

We will now get energy from the cloud, literally...

Interesting concept, but...

[American Patent Guy]

it really isn't useful except where there is a changing atmosphere and the absence of a stronger source of energy such as the Sun. I imagine there are places on the Earth where this could be used, such as deep within caves or piping. Where there is a change in humidity, there is likely to be a change in temperature too. That means that a Peltier device or a battery might be a better choice in most cases.

But I have no doubt that someone will, within a few days or hours, propose this as a solution to global w

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[American Patent Guy]

Yes, but this device operates on a differential of humidity. It would be useless unless there was a change in moisture in the environment.

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[Gryle]

Depending on how sensitive it is, I could see it being useful in places like the Southwest US that are subject monsoons [wikipedia.org] in the summer. Humidity builds during the day until a thunderstorm develops in the evening. The cycle starts all over again the next day.

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[Demonoid-Penguin]

it really isn't useful except where there is a changing atmosphere and the absence of a stronger source of energy such as the Sun.

What if, and I know this is way out there, but what if there was an environment where the humidity levels changed on, say, a daily basis - like, um, not inside a house?

It's a self-powered humidity/spill sensor.

[denzacar]

Start there.

Introducing My New Product...

[Irate Engineer]

...the Power Shower (tm) Curtain!

That's right folks, you heard correctly...now you can sing along at high falsetto with your shower radio with the extraordinary power of a steamy shower and your grotty black-mold-covered flapping shower curtain!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some paperwork to file at the USPTO and multiple-martini lunches with venture capitalists to schedule.

Capitalism FTW!

Matrix v1 ?

[coffecup]

Coming to a bathtub near you soon....

great invention

[jan_jes]

its interesting to watch the whole evaporation driven invention [rtoz.org] video. On one side Graphene glows the bulb [rtoz.org] and on another bacteria. Which would be better to understand, either chemistry or biology?

Slashdot, you have failed me

[tobiasly]

How is it that a day after an article is posted about REAL-LIFE MOISTURE FARMING we don't have a single Star Wars joke??

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[jfengel]

It's because nobody speaks the binary language of moisture vaporators. Sure, it's a lot like the language of binary loadlifters, but the joke just doesn't work in translation.